Monday, September 7, 2015

Pub Royale

-Grubbing in ChicagoNew to the 'Scene'

The recent opening of a spot featuring an Indian inspired menu has drawn mixed reviews. Pub Royale is a place I had on my radar when first reading it would take over the old Smallbar space on Division. The menu is a little bit of British-Indian in terms of the food and drink you may find at a bar in England frequented by people with ties to India. Although this is a hip version.

New to the West Town Neighborhood

Pub Royale did a great job with the design. It has a pretty relaxed feel with a nice sized patio out front. Inside you got the bar along with seats up and down the walls and a few longer tables in the middle for larger groups. I've never been to a British-Indian pub but you can tell the place is hip.

a peek inside

Starting off with some cocktails they have a few good options from what I tasted. I take into account that they're all $8 and not the double digit pricetag so many other hip spots put on the drinks. They have a collection of smash recipes and one was better than the other. I cant remember which ones we tried but I do remember the boozed up mango lassie being very refreshing. But I like frozen drinks.

Cocktails

Onto the food where we we were pretty darn satisfied with our meal. I knew the lamb dumplings would be tried when I first saw the menu. I pretty much love all dumplings however I didn't think the shredded lamb worked well in these. It was hard taking a bite and not pulling all of it out. It could've been more tender and or more chopped a it wasn't working well as far as texture. Taste was a little bit better but I still think something was missing from these. I would've liked more than four for $7.

Lamb Dumplings / Kentucky soy, chili oil, scallion

The winner of the night for me was the potato samosas. I love a good curried potato samosa and these were better than that, they were great. Big and crunchy on the outside with perfectly cooked potatoes spiced just right waiting inside. The dipping sauces each worked well on this perfect bar snack.

Samosa / potato, fried onion, peas

We finished up with a Chicken Tikka Kati Roll with a side of fries. The roll is wrapped in paratha which is a flatbread that originated in Northern India. The chicken tikka was good but it isn't my favorite dish so I'm not one to trust full judgement on. Overall this was something I would split with someone again as the half I ate was just right paired with their fantastic fresh cut fries which were up there with the best in the city. My only gripe was when served in those tall cups lots of salt gets to the bottom leaving the fries down there too salty. I'll be back to explore more options on the menu as I wanted to try the cheeseburger as well as the rabbit pie. It's a good place to have near.